Ethical Perspectives on Emerging Assistive Technologies: Insights from Focus Groups with Stakeholders in Long-Term Care Facilities

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES ARE RELATIVELY novel tools for research and daily care in long-term care (LTC) facilities that are faced with the burgeoning of the older adult population and dwindling staffing resources. The degree to which stakeholders in LTC facilities are receptive to the use of these tec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of empirical research on human research ethics 2009-03, Vol.4 (1), p.25-36
Main Authors: Dorsten, Aimee-Marie, Sifford, K. Susan, Bharucha, Ashok, Mecca, Laurel Person, Wactlar, Howard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Attitude to Health
Behavior Control - ethics
Bioethics
Caregivers
Dementia
Emerging technology
Female
Focus Groups
Health care administration
Homes for the Aged - ethics
Humans
Long-Term Care
Maintenance
Male
Memory
Middle Aged
Monitoring, Ambulatory - ethics
Monitoring, Ambulatory - instrumentation
Nursing Homes - ethics
Older adults
Pennsylvania
Personal Autonomy
Privacy
Protecting the Vulnerable
Safety Management - ethics
Self-Help Devices - ethics
Sensors
Technology
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Summary:ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES ARE RELATIVELY novel tools for research and daily care in long-term care (LTC) facilities that are faced with the burgeoning of the older adult population and dwindling staffing resources. The degree to which stakeholders in LTC facilities are receptive to the use of these technologies is poorly understood. Eighteen semi-structured focus groups and one interview were conducted with relevant groups of stakeholders at seven LTC facilities in southwestern Pennsylvania. Common themes identified across all focus groups centered on concerns for privacy, autonomy, cost, and safety associated with implementation of novel technologies. The relative importance of each theme varied by stakeholder group as well as the perceived severity of cognitive and/or physical disability. Our findings suggest that ethical issues are critical to acceptance of novel technologies by their end users, and that stakeholder groups are interdependent and require shared communication about the acceptance of these emerging technologies.
ISSN:1556-2646
1556-2654
DOI:10.1525/jer.2009.4.1.25